Men and facials – a topic that recently appeared on my radar. I started milling over the idea, and felt the need to open up this discussion with my fellow men. But I am most certainly not talking about a light face wash at home and some nice smelling cream, absolutely not, I’m talking about the whole nine yards.

I like to see myself as the ‘manly’ man. A farm boy from the Gauteng Province who grew up putting up fences for our horses and a few cows, drilling boreholes with granddad, spending days mowing the grass of our back yard and cleaning the horses’ stables and the chicken coops. Facial treatment ‘thingies’ were never on my radar.

Being sporty, in the past I have done the regular sport massages and Thai full body oil massages which I really did enjoy, but never gave any thought about someone pampering my mug.

Recently a friend of mine invited me to her beauty salon that she opened not that long ago in my neck of the woods, Bloubergstrand. Being a good friend, I went, walked in, and there I was in this beauty salon, beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, crisp and clean, all kinds of fragrances filling the air and Smile 90.4 FM playing in the background.

But as I walked in, my friend Mareli said: “Ewan, Britney has got something special planned, just for you.” And so I found out Britney had a lovely Diamond Peel facial on the menu for me. Obviously not knowing what on earth a diamond peel is. But it sounded rather fancy, and I decided to just forget what I think I know, and just go with it. So there I am, on the bed, face up, hairnet, and this little machine that is blowing steam ever so gently over my face – far removed from the rugged childhood I had of cleaning chicken poop and stables filled with the scent of horse urine and manure, all things that were very much normal for me.

But there I was, gentle steam and all with Britney rubbing my face, and then she started scrubbing my face with what looks like a hollow steel pen, with constant suction, reviving the skin and removing dead skin cells. Britney of course using higher level language to explain to me what is going on, but it totally went over my head, very high-tech stuff. Afterwards I was treated to a Vitamin C rejuvenation lotion and some sort of a healthy type of acid derived from the mythical fountain of youth – I swear that’s what I heard.

But let me be honest here. For a guy with a non-pampering mindset, I actually loved the entire experience, despite my preconceived ideas around men and facials. My skin felt fresh, rejuvenated and youthful, and I had a ton of compliments the next day!

But myself and Britney got talking, why are men, in general, so disinterested in taking care of their skin, specifically their facial skin, but don’t think twice about popping a bicep in the gym.

Quite honestly, just taking my own thoughts into account, the reason I never thought of facials is exactly that, I just never thought of doing it. The existence of a facial or a ‘peel’ just never existed in my male brain. But after my diamond peel and seeing and feeling the results, I am all for it.

We are modern men in a modern society, and I am of the firm opinion that men from all walks of life, can benefit in the long run from taking good care of their skin. So, quiet down that inner voice that objects to the thought of a facial, be a man, and do the right thing. Put your face in the hands of a professional.